Chris Christie has a lot to prove in New Hampshire

JILL COLVIN

Apr. 14, 2015

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has a difficult mission in his first extended visit to New Hampshire. He's got to convince activists and voters that he can win the Republican presidential nomination in a crowded primary where he appears to have been outmaneuvered by likely rivals before the race has technically begun.

The trip starting Tuesday will serve as the first real test of how Christie's famously brash style will play with voters in a state that's seen as crucial to the governor.

And it comes as the race has entered a new stage, with three Republican candidates now declared, putting pressure on others to get in.

The biggest test for Christie could come Wednesday at his first town-hall event outside New Jersey.